


lionheart

by floralklance (sylvenon)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Canonical Character Death, Children of Characters, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Lies, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2018-12-20 09:11:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11917719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sylvenon/pseuds/floralklance
Summary: All her life, Alfera has been told her father, Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane, The Black Paladin, was a traitor. Her mother turns her back on her when she asks, but her caretaker, Coran, tells her of tales, tales of her father and his friends and how they saved the universe. So Alfera has decided to find out for herself, why her mother decided to disgrace the Paladins of Voltron.





	1. the black paladin

The girl stood at the doorway, nervously biting her lip. She could taste the metallic liquid as it welled up from the pinpoints in her lip. She waited until the meeting broke apart and she entered the room, servants bowing and guards standing at attention. "Mother." She said, bringing a hand up to wipe away the blood and folded her arms behind her back. Her mother gave her a glance, before focusing on the man in front of her. "Mot-" 

"Not now, Alfera." The girl sighed and lowered her head, dejected. 

"Yes, mother." She turned and walked away, dragging her feet, before shutting the door. She sighed and stared up at the hallway, lit up with soft blue lights. She turned and started walking towards her room, walking past guards and other nobles alike. She froze, a shiver flying down her spine and she lifted her head, eyes capturing a lone door. Tall and majestic, a gold lock adorned on the handles. Alfera looked around, eyeing her surroundings. The front of the door was empty, normally there would be guards. She quickly walked towards it. _They must be changing shifts_. She reached up and pulled the lock away from the door. It snapped easily under her strength and she dropped it. She opened the door and shut it, taking in a deep breath, eyes flying wide. It was a long hall that seemed to end in a culdesac. Alfera twisted to her left, stepping back and jumping when the wall to her right lit up an intense red. She turned and gasped. "The Red Paladin." A tall statue, holding his sword in front of him, a long blade made of steel and agate, he looked like a knight from the human's tales. She stepped back and the wall behind her lit up in a vibrant blue. She looked back and turned. "The Blue Paladin." A man holding a gun, decorated with sapphires and iron, he looked just as dangerous and legendary as the Red Paladin. She looked down the hall and ran to the next. The Yellow Paladin, a man with a cannon on his shoulder, looking as though he was ready to kill. The Green Paladin, a woman standing just as tall as the other, whip in hand, glowing a forest green. Alfera sighed happily, twirling around before her heel clipped another plate. She turned, looking up at the hidden statue. "The Black Paladin." She whispered, breath blown from her lungs. She lifted her foot, to activate the lights when the door flew open. 

"Alfera!" Her mother roared, anger lighting her blue eyes a dangerous black. She stood at the entrance, looking every bit of the Queen she was. Alfera stepped away from the activation plate, lowering her head. Her mother stormed forward. Alfera raised her head. 

"Why?" Her mother faltered in her steps. 

"What?" 

"Why was no one allowed in here? Why were you keeping this from everybody?" Alfera gestured at the contents of the hall. "Why did you declare father a traitor? Why were the Paladin's buried without honor?" Alfera asked, backing up. Her mother stepped forward. 

"Not another step, Alfera." In all her twenty years, Alfera has never seen her mother look so afraid. Alfera stopped, taking in a deep breath and opened her eyes, focusing on her mother's dark blue ones. 

"I'm sorry Mother." She turned and stepped on the platform, a burst of energy sweeping the room and blowing the other's out. The doors slammed shut and Alfera heard her mother scream her name. Her eyes widened and the breath flew from her lungs. The Black Paladin, her father, stood huge and imposing, his right arm held up in a fighting stance, pulsing softly a violet. Alfera stared up at him and raised a hand to her hair, clutching the pitch black locks, so unlike her mother's. Then her hands traveled down her face, touching the corners of her eyes, a deep blue, then down to her nose, small and turned up, then she touched her cheek like Coran used to do when he spoke to her, the hard line of her jaw so like the man standing before her. She looked up, tears gathering in her eyes. She felt a warmth at her back and twisted around, looking for the source. Thin air. She turned at the sound of a door swooshing open and stepped off the platform to stand in front of the glass case. "Holy Quiznak." She whispered, setting a hand on the glass, staring up at the Paladin armor. 

_Open it._

She turned around, body still shivering from the phantom voice. She frowned and turned back, before popping the case open. She reached out with careful fingers and wrapped around the armor. She pulled it out and looked around, looking for the voice. 

_Put it on._

The voice was back in her left ear, familiar. She shook her head. "Only the Black Paladin can wear it. I'm no Paladin." 

_You are the Princess of Altea, daughter of Queen Allura and the last Black Paladin. You are worthy of wearing the armor._

Alfera bit her lip, reopening the wound there and a phantom hand brushed against it. She looked up, capturing the faintest images of a man. She looked for him but saw him no longer. She looked down at the armor in her arms and nodded. She set it down and stripped down to her undersuit, leftover from her weapons training earlier that day. She slid into the suit and it fit snuggly on her and she ran her gloved hands down the front, tracing the 'V' on her chest. She stares down at it, before looking up. Another panel slid open, showing her a bayard, black in color. She reached out and took it, feeling it settle in her hands. It encased itself in light and she was left holding a well-decorated rapier, decorated with lions and gold against the black handle. Alfera sliced the open air in front of her to test it out, before letting it recede. She held it close to her thigh and it disappeared into the armor. 

_Gather the other armors and run. I cannot hold them back for much longer. Find the other Paladins, Black will lead you straight and true._

Alfera did not know who was guiding her, but she was thankful. She approached each statue and watched panels open and gift her the armor and bayard of the respective Paladin and raced for the statue of her father, just as the doors blew open and the roar of noise was yells and commands. 

"Alfera!" She ignored her mother and raced for the opening door, next to her father's statue. She jumped, twisting in midair to see her mother. Fear. Anger. Concern. Sorrow. Emotions she has never seen before on her mother's face broke through the mask the Queen has worn for twenty years. 

"I'm sorry." And she fell into the darkness of the tunnel. 

* * *

Alfera broke through the darkness, falling into a chamber. She landed lightly, training giving her light feet. She looked up as the chamber lit up and she realized it wasn't a chamber at all. It was a ship hangar. She gasped, eyes widening as she took in the ship before her. The Black Lion. It lived up to the stories Coran once told her, beautiful and majestic. Worthy of being the head of Voltron. She bit her lip and approached it, the particle barrier a soft purple. Alfera stared up at it, before resting a hand on the particle barrier. It flew open, dispersing into millions of light sparks, as locations flew through Alfera's mind. She sucked in a breath and smiled. She raised a hand and fixed her helmet before walking into the open maw of the Black Lion.

"Let's go find the Blue Paladin." 

 


	2. the blue paladin

The planet was filled with blue and green, looking like an ocean with small islands. Alfera landed the Black Lion on a strip of land, covered in gold. She exited the lion and stared down at the gold. She tilted her head, listening to the soft voice in her head and took off her armor, leaving her in the white and black skin suit. She stepped out of the mouth of the lion and jumped back, surprised at how warm the gold was.

She stepped back onto the gold and ran a few steps, before twirling around and landing on it. She dug her hands into the gold grains and flung it into the air. Bad idea. Some caught in her eyes and she rolled around in pain for a few moments. She sat up, eyes throbbing in pain, red from crying, before she focused on a small building, a few kilometers away.

She sat for a few moments then walked back to the lion and felt around for a panel. It fell open and she grabbed the first thing she could find. She pulled on the vest and walked from the lion, watching as the particle barrier flew up, guarding it against others. She took a deep breath and traveled the strip of land to the building.

* * *

Alfera stepped into the small restaurant, ignoring the looks she gained from others, barefoot and dressed in skintight clothes with an oversized vest hanging off her shoulders. She searched the small building and frowned when she didn't see who she was looking for. Then from behind the curtains swooped out a woman that could have easily passed for a goddess.

Long dark brown hair and what seemed like miles of dark skin. Eyes clearer than the ocean outside and a blue unlike any color Alfera has seen. Alfrea froze when those eyes caught hers and she sucked in a breath when she smiled. The woman walked over and the height difference was noticeable. Alfera had to angle her head down to continue to look in those blue eyes.

"Hello." Her voice was surprising, rough, similar to the ocean crashing against high cliffs. 

"Hello," Alfera said, feeling her cheeks heat up. The emotion building in her bones was unknown to her, but she didn't try to fight it. "I'm looking for someone to complete my team." She said. The girl arched an eyebrow, before smiling again. 

"And who is this someone?" Alfera blinked slowly. 

"You." The girl made a noise that Alfera processed as a curious noise. 

"How do you know?" 

"I just do," Alfera explained. The girl looked annoyed. No. Suspicious. "What?" Alfera started tugging her hands, her palms sweating. It was a horrible habit that her mother tried to break her of. 

"Nothing. I want to show you something." The girl pulled Alfera's hands and led her through the restaurant. They walked through a busy kitchen and an elderly woman yelled at the girl in a language Alfera did not recognize. The girl responded in the same language before they left the building. The girl pulled Alfera through a small part of woods and onto a hill.

"Can you read this?" The girl asked. Alfera stared down at the stones, realizing that they were headstones, a common human practice for the deceased. But the writing is not English. Or any human language. It was Altean. Alfera kneels down and runs her fingers over the letters. 

"This one reads as such, 'Lance McClain-Kogane. Loving father, brother, uncle, and friend. A hero that died for what he believed in.'" Alfera paused. "There is no year." 

"And the other?" The girl asked. Alfera turned to the next, the name Lance ringing through her head, familiar but she just couldn't figure it out. 

"Similar. 'Keith Kogane. Loving friend, husband, and father. A legend never truly dies.'" Alfera sat for a moment, racking her brain as to why these names are so familiar. She gasps. 

"The Blue and Red Paladin!" She stood, running her hands through her hair. "They were buried here? Why? My mother said she buried them with their companions." Alfera murmured. 

"Lance is my father." Alfera looks down at the girl. 

"Then...you really are the one I am looking for. Follow me." Alfera grabs her hand and races away. They reach the beach and Alfera runs for the Lion. 

"What is that?" 

"A spaceship that is sentient and forms a giant robot." 

"Oh. That explains everything." The particle barrier falls and Alfera leads the girl into the cockpit. "I never got your name." 

"Alfera. And yours is?" 

"Rosalind. You can call me Rose, though." 

"Rose it is." Alfera said, before strapping into the pilot seat. "Strap in. It's my second time flying her." 

"Wait, what-" The Lion took off from the sandbar and Rose was screaming bloody mary for the .5 seconds it took before they were level. Rose sucked in a deep breath and Alfera braced herself for another scream. 

"There." Alfera looks back and Rose is leaning forward, pointing to a reef off to the right. Alfera guides the Black Lion there and they hover. Rose closes her eyes, humming. "Let me out." 

"Okay." Alfera has the Black Lion open her maw and Rose unbuckles, before going to stand in the open jaw of the Lion. Alfera watches on the camera and Rose dives into the ocean. Alfera pulls up a bit, to watch as the girl disappears into the darkness.

She's not sure how long humans can hold their breath, but if they're like Alteans, then it's not for very long. Alfera frowns as the seconds turn into minutes. She pulls the Black Lion up and is about to dive in after Rose when the surface breaks and another large robot appears from the deep. 

Alfera's breath caught in her throat. "The Blue Lion." Alfera whispered, gazing in awe at the blue coloring and the sleek figure. Rose's face appeared on her communication screen. 

"This is so freaking cool, Alfie!" Alfera blinks. 

"Alfie?" 

"Yeah. I gave you a nickname." Rose said, grinning widely. Alfera smiles. 

"I like it." 

* * *

They land on the sandbar and Alfera brings Rose her armor and Bayard. "Here. This was your father's." She says. Rose takes it and slips her dress off. Alfera averts her eyes, her face flushing dark red. 

"I'm good." 

"A little warning next time?" Alfera mumbled. Rose looked strong and terrifying in the paladin armor. She gripped the Blue Bayard and it flashed. Two small guns appeared in her hand and she squealed. 

"Duel pistols!" Rose exclaimed. Alfera smiled. Then she frowned. 

"We have to find the Yellow Paladin next." Rose frowned as well. 

"I know." They look at eachother. 

"This will be an adventure." Rose pursed her lips at the comment. 

"One we might not come back from."

 


End file.
